The air quality in Vancouver continues to rank poorly among the world’s major cities, and the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD) has an ongoing warning for residents.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) reissued MVRD’s warning on the morning of Friday, Aug. 7.
The warning applies to the MVRD areas of Vancouver, Burnaby, New West, the North Shore, the Tri-Cities, Pitt Meadows, and Maple Ridge.
Surrey, Langley, and White Rock are also covered by the warning and in the Fraser Valley, the warning applies to Abbotsford and Mission.
According to ECCC and MVRD, the warning is a result of elevated fine particulate matter and ground-level ozone (a.k.a. smog).
The warning states that conditions may last “until there is a change in weather.”
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is elevated because of wildfires in B.C., including the South Cariboo, the Southern Interior, and “the complex fires near Boston Bar.”
“Ground-level ozone (smog) is expected to reach elevated levels in eastern parts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley this afternoon due to a combination of hot and sunny weather, local emissions, and wildfire smoke,” the warning states.
The warning says there are ways you can help, including checking in on others who may be affected. It also suggests keeping windows and doors closed while running air filtration.
And this great piece of advice: “If it’s hot, focus on staying cool.”
IQAir, which ranks cities by air quality, has Vancouver among the world’s 30 worst cities for air quality. It’s important to note that IQAir doesn’t rank every single city in the world, just major ones.
As of 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, Vancouver ranked 27th with an Air Quality Index of 78. For context, the world’s worst city at the same time was Bahrain, with an Air Quality Index of 155. Vancouver is ranked alongside cities like Lahore, Pakistan, and slightly worse than Santiago, Chile, and Zagreb, Croatia.